Posts Tagged 'trials and tribulations'

Americans are plagued by stress and anxiety. Just how bad is it? In the most advanced society on the planet; in a country with unmatched prosperity and freedom, anxiety disorders are the most pervasive of all psychiatric disorders listed in the DSMV. According to the latest statistics, the annual cost to treat those suffering with anxiety disorders in America is well over 42 million dollars. Despite being the richest nation on earth, America is also the most anxious nation on earth, with nearly a third of Americans likely to suffer from an anxiety problem in their lifetime. Why is that? American philosopher and author Eric Hoffer hit the nail on the head, I think, when he wrote this:

The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness.

The problem, of course, is that happiness in America is seen as a right; that everybody has a right to be happy, usually at any cost. And when an American isn’t happy, they get anxious and make bad decisions, making themselves even more anxious as that happiness they are looking for becomes more and more elusive. I’m sure Thomas Jefferson never dreamed that his bit about “the pursuit of happiness” would be twisted and tortured into something way beyond what he meant at the time he wrote it.

Yet according to Paul, no Christian should be anxious about anything.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6 | TNIV)

“Anything” and “every” are two words that stand out in that verse because we can all find things that we think are worth being anxious about and the thought about praying with thanksgiving in every situation seems, well, unreasonable. Take the aforementioned happiness quest. Children are indoctrinated by, of all people, their parents, to believe the most important thing in the whole world is for them to be happy. Be happy no matter what. Be happy at school, even preschool when junior would rather be playing outside, discovering things on his own. Then it’s “be happy at work, even though it’s a dead-end job you hate,” because “you’re lucky to have it.” We are constantly being told to “be happy,” but we’re left up to our own devices to figure out how we make that happen! Thanks, Mom and Dad. Wouldn’t it better if Mom and Dad knew what the Bible says about the happiness issue? The reason they don’t is likely because their church doesn’t. Because the church of Jesus Christ has largely succumbed to the secular notion that “God wants you to be happy,” too. No wonder even Christians are anxiously pursuing a phantom notion.

What does the Bible say about the happiness issue? Honestly, it says nothing. Search as you might, you won’t find any red letter saying about the believer’s right to be happy. And yet it does, in a backwards, sideway way. Jesus said this about life for the believer:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 | TNIV)

That’s right and Jesus was totally honest. In this world, you won’t find happiness, but you will find heaps of trouble. The most the believer can hope for is peace in the midst of trouble, and that peace is not found in a Valium or in vodka or in a vacation, but in a Person – the Person of Jesus Christ.

That’s not to say that Jesus wants His people to be miserable, because He most certainly doesn’t. Frequently in the Gospels, Jesus began certain sayings with the phrase, “blessed is.” The Greek in behind our English word “blessed” carries with it the notion of being happy. So a Christian will find a measure of happiness by following the Beatitudes of Christ. Things like this:

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11, 12 | TNIV)

That might not be what some of you were expecting, but it is the Word of God. And this why some people find it so hard to fully commit to Jesus Christ, and hence are unhappy Christians. There is a segment of Christianity that continues to cling to notion that you can find lasting happiness in the world. It’s so baked into their psyche that they can’t stop their ultimately worthless pursuit. And you can’t have two minds if you want to follow Christ. If you’re not fully committed to Him, you will be continually disappointed – disappointed in both your faith and in the world, because you’ll be expecting something from both that they can’t give you. If you aren’t completely sold-out to Christ, answers to prayer and promised blessings will elude you. If you aren’t completely sold-out to Christ, He can’t take your world and make things work for you. Let’s face it. It’s rough being you if you aren’t fully committed to Christ.

Last time, we discussed the idea that a Christian needs to be fully committed to Christ even if it seems like his world collapsing around him. This was Paul’s situation. He had suffered greatly to share the Gospel with the lost. By the time he wrote his second letter to his pal Timothy, he was sitting in prison because he was preaching the Gospel. Yet he wrote this:

That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. (2 Timothy 1:12 | TNIV)

Paul had entrusted his very life – his whole life – to God, no matter what dangers he encountered or indignities he suffered. One time in his life, the great apostle prayed for some relief, and along came God’s surprising answer:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10 | TNIV)

Paul had committed his life to Christ. Peter, another great apostle, wrote about committed something else to Christ, and that’s what we’ll look at today.

Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in welldoing, as unto a faithful Creator. (1 Peter 4:19 | KJ21)

More modern translations look like this:

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. (1 Peter 4:19 | TNIV)

The KJV used the word “soul,” and that’s actually a good way to translate the Greek phrase. Peter is referring to the “inner man.” It means being committed to Christ from the inside out; your mind, your heart, you body – in every way committed to Christ. It’s a single-minded devotedness that doesn’t ignore bad times, but at the same time doesn’t let those bad times disrupt the precious relationship that exists between Christ and His follower.

Suffering for Christ is a privilege?

Peter’s advice to his readers was desperately needed. His letter was written to a bunch of Christian expats, who didn’t have it very good. Many of them didn’t possess two shekels to rub together.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. (1 Peter 1:1, 2 | TNIV)

These people had lost everything in some cases to follow Christ. They had become exiles on account of their faith, but at the same time Peter calls them “God’s elect.” They were God’s elect, yet that didn’t disqualify them from suffering in the same way as their Lord did, and as other followers of Jesus do. But it wasn’t just any kind of suffering Peter is referring to. Later on, we’re told what the exiles were suffering for.

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12, 13 | TNIV)

We don’t know what those fiery trials were, but had they not been following the teachings of Jesus Christ, they would have been just fine. Suffering on account of who Jesus is should be considered a blessing. Not all suffering, just suffering for Him.

If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. (1 Peter 4:15, 16 | TNIV)

Not all suffering is good. And if you suffer because of some stupid thing you did, you should be ashamed. But there’s no need for shame if your suffering is on account of your faith.

The reason for suffering

You may wonder why God allows His people to suffer like this. It’s not just a New Testament thing. For centuries Christians have, in the case of the martyrs, given their very lives for their testimony of faith. Peter gives us the reason, and it’s not for the faint of heart.

For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17 | TNIV)

That’s a chilling verse. Peter seemed to sense that the trials Christians are suffering today are really nothing less than a very long period of divine judgment or discipline. Though we are living in an age of grace, where God is not judging people and nations as we see Him doing in the Old Testament, that doesn’t mean He’s sitting idly by. God is just and He has appointed a righteous Judge.

For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead. (Acts 17:31 | TNIV)

Jesus Christ, our appointed Judge, knows the heart of every man; He sees what we do and how we live, but Jesus alone knows our intentions and motivations. If you read through the Old Testament, you’ll see that God always follows a pattern when it comes to discipline and judgment. It always begins with His people. The trials or problems you encounter may seem bad or unfair and difficult to endure, but God uses them to purify your faith and purge the impurities from your life. Peter wants us to know that anything negative we may experience because of our faith is nothing compared to the utter hopelessness and doom awaiting those who don’t have faith.

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. (1 Peter 4:19 | TNIV)

There is nothing more important than the strength of your faith. Nothing. Not even creature comforts or friends or even family. Your faith is of eternal value, and that’s why, from time-to-time, you may suffer on account of it. When that happens, you must be all the more committed to the Lord. Only He can see you through it. There can be no part-time Christians; no partially committed followers of Jesus. You’re either all in or you won’t make it. You need to be (say it with me) COMMITTED!

There is no more amazing thing in a believer’s life than his faith. A Christian may be highly educated, credentialed, celebrated, talented, and decorated, but his faith is his most amazing possession. The thing about the Christian’s faith is that nobody else in the world has it; only Christians. The world has its pale imitation of the believer’s faith, and while practicing positive thinking and while maintaining a positive mental attitude may lead to a better and more fulfilling life, those kinds of things are NOT Biblical faith. You don’t have faith naturally; it is placed into your heart by the Holy Spirit. We take our faith for granted but we shouldn’t. It’s what separates us from the rest of the world. It makes us special. It makes us supernatural people.

The basis of our faith is the Word of God, according to Romans 10:17 –

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17 | NIV84)

The object of our faith is not our feelings or our emotions. We can’t gin up faith. Our faith is completely objective, and its object is a Person: God –

So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. (Acts 27:25 | NIV84)

Faith may be a mystery to some, but not to Paul who had discovered the secret of his faith:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 | NIV84)

But possessing faith and living by faith isn’t all sunshine and buttercups. Nobody knew that better that the apostle Peter, and he wrote to Christians who also knew all about how difficult living a life of faith can be.

These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:7 | NIV84)

Background

Some people might refer to Peter as “just a fisherman.” But nobody who spent three years in the company of Jesus Christ could be called “just a fisherman.” In fact, if you were to sit down and read through both of Peter’s letters in the New Testament, you would be reading about such things as the doctrines of election, foreknowledge, sanctification, obedience, the extent of Christ’s finished work on the Cross, God’s grace, the Trinity, salvation, faith, and hope! Peter was not “just a fisherman,” and while we always think about Paul as being the towering intellectual of the Christian faith, Peter was no intellectual slouch. He juggled mighty theological concepts while dealing with the day-to-day problems encountered by believers scattered all over the known world.

Here was a man who, at one time, was impetuous; the kind of guy that rushes in where angels fear to tread. Peter often spoke before he thought and some of the dopey things he said surely caused our Lord’s head to shake. Speaking of our Lord, Jesus said this to and about Peter:

“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by myFather in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be e loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17 – 19 | NIV84)

Peter was the “rock” upon which the church was to be built. But before you get all excited about that, Peter, whose name means “rock,” would go on to write this in 1 Peter 2:5 –

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4, 5 | NIV84)

So, in Peter’s inspired opinion, all believers are “rocks.” We are all Peter. Peter knew there was nothing special about him; he knew he was an apostle, but he also knew he was just one of many. The church is built on people like Peter; people like you and me.

Peter wrote his letters after Paul wrote his, probably between 64 and 67 AD, after Nero had come to power and had begun his persecution of Christians. And we know to whom he wrote his letters, particularly the first one:

These were believers in peril; their lives were constantly threatened by persecution on account of their relationship with Jesus Christ and His church. And though Peter mentions persecution many times in his letter, the theme of the letter is not persecution but rather hope in times of persecution. Dr McGee refers to Peter as the “apostle of hope,” and hope in the New Testament is always linked to suffering. What that means is startling and counterintuitive. Suffering, what we all try to avoid at all costs, is something that produces hope.

And the readers of this letter needed hope. They were “strangers in the world, scattered…” all over the place. The recipients were a mixture of both Jew and Gentile believers, and both groups were literally “strangers in the world” and “scattered.” For the Jewish Christians, they were forced out of their homes in Jerusalem and forced to lived in strange, pagan cities. For the Gentiles, their citizenship was in heaven but they had lost so much just to follow the way of Jesus . So both of these groups of precious believers were suffering and that suffering (those trials they were dealing with) was producing something in their lives they didn’t have before: HOPE.

Trials in perspective

It’s easy to understand how trials produce suffering, but how does that produce hope? It all boils down to perspective. When a believer is facing a trial that produces suffering, what he pays attention to makes all the difference in the world. Peter gives us something to think about:

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. (1 Peter 1:6 | NIV84)

There’s your perspective right there. What Peter is referring to when he wrote “In this,” will become self-evident, but for right now, his point is a simple one: in the midst of “suffering grief in all kinds of trials” Christians should rejoice, not worry or be anxiety-ridden. That may sound crazy to you, but you need to pay attention to it. When you are experiencing trials that lead to suffering, you ought to rejoice – not praising the trials, but focusing on God instead of the trial. The key is forcing yourself to see God, not get bogged down in the trial. Remember what kind of trial Peter is talking about here. It’s a trial you experience because of your faith. We’re not talking about the trial of a bad cold or a feverish child, although you should focus on God regardless of what’s going on in your life.

As a side note, modern Christians have a completely warped out perspective on suffering. We foolishly think that whatever is happening at the moment is the most important thing in our lives. So when we are suffering the trial of a bad cold or a feverish child, those things tower over horizon and we behave in an unseemly way for a Christian to behave. When you drag your sick child to the emergency ward at the hospital and are freaking out because you have to wait to see a doctor, that’s unseemly behavior for a Christian to engage in because it says something very disturbing about your faith. It says you don’t have very much. A moment in the waiting room can ruin your testimony for Jesus Christ. And nothing is more important than that. How you behave when the thumb screws of life get tight says everything the quality of your faith.

But Peter is specifically referring to those trials you may face on account of your Christian faith. When that happens, here’s what “in this” refers to:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5 | NIV84)

You may be facing trials on account of your faith, but if you keep your focus on what God has done for you and given you in Jesus Christ, your trials pale by comparison. The jeers and mocking, the persecution of losing your job or home because of your faith are NOTHING compared to what you GET in Christ! Thinking about what you have waiting for you in heaven may also seem counterintuitive and a denial of reality, but it isn’t.

Here’s the thing. Our faith in this is both objective and subjective. It is objective in the sense that our faith is in “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” and in “his great mercy” that led to our “new birth.” It is subjective in the sense that there are definitely “rewards,” what Peter refers to “an inheritance that can never spoil or fade” that we should think about.

In the midst of these kinds of trials, if we can keep them in perspective and keep our focus on God, we’ll be fine. And that brings us to the verse that started this whole thing:

These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:7 | NIV84)

If you think that verse is a little hard to swallow in light of what came before it, try what Peter’s associate, James, wrote on for size:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4 | NIV84)

Both Peter and James were not deniers of reality. Neither of them denied that the readers of their letters were suffering trials. They’re giving Holy Spirit-inspired advice that needs to be noticed and taken by modern believers.

As a Christian, you will face some forms of persecution on account of your faith. That persecution may take many forms, but it will come. Even in America. You may find that hard to believe, but all you have to do is ask the Christian who spoke out in support of traditional family values who has been denied a promotion because of it. Or the baker who refused to bake a cake for a “gay wedding” who had to pay a heftY fine. Those are forms of persecution. That you will face some form of persecution is guaranteed. How will you react to it? Peter wants you to understand that your most precious possession is not your job. It’s not your home. It’s not your friendship. It’s not your family. Your FAITH is your most precious possession and though you may lose much because of your relationship with Christ, you can never lose your faith. In fact, that faith is strengthened when you suffer persecution.

Augustine observed:

In the fiery furnace, the straw is burned by the gold is purified.

Martin Luther chimed in:

The fire does not lessen the gold but makes it pure and bright, removing any admixture. So God lays the Cross upon all Christians in order to purify and cleanse them well in order that their faith may remain pure even as the Word is pure, and that we may cling to the Word and nothing else.

Both of those guys were right. Why does your faith need to be purified? It’s because when we live and prosper and enjoy the blessings God gives us, we as sinful people tend to start focusing on them and trusting in them instead of God. Our faith becomes corrupted by other things, even very good things like friends and family and pension plans. When that happens, those corruptions in our faith – those impurities – need to be removed. And God will allow those persecutions that lead to suffering to do just that.

Perspective is everything. And it’s the one thing Peter’s friends needed and it’s the one thing we need, too.

When it comes to Christian living, there are two extremes best avoided. On one hand, there are people who think Christians should never have a worry in the world. To them, being a Christian should exempt you from the trials and tribulations of everyday life and there is no sin so grievous that can endanger your salvation. On the other hand, there are Christians who worry about everything, negative about everything, and are always wondering if they are still saved.

Both of these extremes in thought are unbiblical. The Bible never teaches us to live recklessly, assuming there is nothing we do that can cause us to lose our salvation. Nor does the Bible teach us to “get saved” every other day just in case we did something that would cause us to lose our salvation. What the Bible does teach is that a believer can have complete confidence in his relationship with Christ as he goes about his daily life, striving to live in obedience to His Word. While we cannot hide from the world or hibernate deep in the woods until Christ returns, we can—and in fact God expects us to—live life to the fullest ever day. We are to be a part of the community in which we live, working and rubbing shoulders with all kinds of people, believers or not. We may be confident that no matter where we may find ourselves on any given day, we have God’s promise that He is always with us and that He will deliver us from any trial or temptation facing us. Knowing this wonderful truth should give all Christians unbridled confidence in the fact that they can, through the power of Christ, live a victorious life.

1. Chosen and loved by God, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 14; 1 Peter 2:9, 10

a. Called to salvation, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 14

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

These two verses say two powerful things about the Christian’s position in Christ, which form the basis for our confidence. First, the believer has been chosen by God, and second, he has been called by God.

When Paul writes that the Thessalonian believers had been “chosen by God to be saved,” he is speaking of the doctrine of election. In the Greek Old Testament, the same word is used to describe God’s choosing of Israel (Deuteronomy 26:18). Paul said that God chose the Thessalonians “from the beginning,” which probably does not refer to the beginning of Paul’s missionary work there, but to a time before the creation of the world.

This idea of God’s choosing believers before time is a common thought in Paul’s writing, for example in 1 Corinthians 2:7 and Ephesians 1:4. God, in eternity past, chose people for the purpose of saving them “through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and belief in the truth.” In this telling phrase, we see there are two things at work: divine and human responsibilities in salvation. God’s part in saving people involves the work of the Holy Spirit in setting apart (sanctifying) the believer. The human responsibility is to believe the truth.

The “choosing” was made in eternity past but the “calling” is present. God calls those He has chosen through the preaching or presentation of the Gospel. Part of this divine calling to salvation involves future glorification.

These two verses are chock-full of theology but this deep theology had a very practical purpose: to encourage the Thessalonians as they faced their trials and periods of persecution. Knowing that better days are coming, believers should be optimistic about their future regardless of their present circumstances. We should know that hard times will come and they will pass and in the end we will emerge victorious.

b. Chosen people, 1 Peter 2:9, 10

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

These two verses show a stunning contrast between the present state of believers (vs, 9) and their past (vs. 10). Verse 9 is not an “ideal” condition but a real one. Believers are literally a “chosen people,” people picked out of the whole world and placed in a new relationship with God by virtue of their new birth. As God’s chosen people, Christians share in His royal authority and are wonderfully free to approach God any time through Christ. Christians are a “holy nation,” or a separated group of people.

2. Hope by grace, 2 Thessalonians 2:15—17

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

a. Stand firm, vs. 15

Verse 15 is a kind of summary exhortation. The church is to “stand firm” in God’s truth; the truth they had received from Paul’s teaching. In the face of any and all forms of opposition, and in the face of any fancy false teachings, the Thessalonians were encouraged to “stand firm,” or remain unmovable in their devotion to the truths they had been taught.

We may be tempted to latch on to new and groovy sounding teachings that tingle our ears, but Paul’s admonition to the Thessalonians is as true for us as it was for them. We ought to measure any new teaching against the plain truth of God’s word; the teachings we heard in the beginning.

b. Be encouraged, vss. 16, 17

The chapter closes with Paul praying that his friends have the strength to stand firm and hold fast to the traditional teachings of the Word of God. He prays for two things:

Encourage their hearts. The Thessalonians were in real trouble; they were facing real threats and distress. They needed God’s help and divine encouragement and comfort to carry on.

Strengthen them in good words and deeds. Paul wanted God to enable his friends to live right no matter what. Consistent Christian behavior is essential. We cannot be “fair weather Christians,” people who are in love with Jesus and living for Him when it’s all sunshine and roses! We are to live that way all the time, regardless of circumstances.

3. Established and kept by Christ, 2 Thessalonians 3:1—5

a. Specific praying, vss. 1, 2

Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith.

Paul prayed for the believers in Thessalonica, but he was also in need of prayer. We can learn what was most important to Paul as we look at his two prayer requests:

He asked the Thessalonians to pray that the Gospel would be spread quickly and honored. What Paul wanted was unfettered opportunities to preach the Word. But not only did Paul want the freedom to evangelize, but he wanted the Gospel to be received and believed by those who heard it.

Paul asked to be delivered from “wicked and evil men.”

We see here what was of primary importance to Paul: he wanted to be protected and kept safe, but that protection had a primary purpose: the advancement of the Gospel.

b. The Lord’s faithfulness, vss. 3—5

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command.May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.

Paul wanted his friends to remain faithful to Christ, but verses 3 and 4 speak of Christ’s faithfulness. While believers may face bad times at the hands of faithfuless people, God, who is faithful, will give His people strength and protection.

God will ultimately vindicate the Church when He punishes all evil doers. But His faithfulness is not just about future judgment, it is also seen in the very real present protection and care for His Church.

Because God is ever-faithful, believers can persevere in the faith and look over and beyond their present troubles. How are believers able to do this? It is because of God’s character, not because Christians are inherently able to do so. The faithfulness of God is the soul’s anchor. God can be depended on; we can have have absolute confidence in Him because of who He is. Confidence in the Lord leads to confidence in living the kind of life that is pleasing to Him.

Who’d have guessed?

My Conservative Identity:

You are an Anti-government Gunslinger, also known as a libertarian conservative. You believe in smaller government, states’ rights, gun rights, and that, as Reagan once said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”